Almighty Agra

The train ride from Varanasi to Agra, although only 14 hours, seemed to drag on forever. I booked a berth on the highest class available (AC2), splurging the extra $14 to have a clean(ish) toilet to be hunched over. I'm still quite sick but am slowly getting my energy back. Hopefully tomorrow I will be back to 100%.

As for Agra, it has been quite a surprise. For such a 'touristy' city it lacks the high prices and high concentration of Caucasians I was expecting. After a cheap rickshaw ride, 50rs, from the railway station to the south gate of the Taj Mahal I started my search for a hostel room for the next couple nights. It wasn't long before I came across the 'Shanti Hotel' were I was able to get a nice room for a refreshing price after some bargaining. (for 333rs/night I'm getting a big room with cable tv, double bed, fan, couch, and attached bathroom with 24hr hot water)

The rooftop restaurant/lounging area of my hostel has one of the best views of the Taj Mahal. I have yet to decide when I'm going to see it up close but with such a steap admission price, 750rs($16), I'm going to wait till I'm feeling a bit better and can enjoy it for a good half a day. When I'm feeling more budget conscious I can walk merly 50 feet from my hostel for some 15rs($0.30) breakfast (toast, eggs, fruit, and tea) or 30rs($0.60) for a mid-day thali (a traditional meal like we ate in the ashram).

Random moment of the day: I found a gate leading into an empty park around 500 meters west of the Taj Mahal and went for a wonder. I found a shady rusty and decrepit tower that I climbed for a great view of all the surrounding city and a few exotic birds that were running around the park. When I finally decided to leave I discovered the gate I came through, the only gate in the park surrounded by a high wall, was locked. Turns out it was a scam. There was an old lady who locked me in and only let me go when I promised her money (she wanted 500rs).  This is one of the few times I've lost my temper in India. I after yelling at here for a minute I threw 3rs($0.06) in a nearby pile of cow feces and spit on it. I'm getting rather sick of how many people try to trick and scam you everywhere you go. But the number of bad experiences has always been vastly outweighed by the good, so there is still a smile on my face, regardless of what happens.

Day 73-74: Varanasi

I've been spending most my days in Varanasi wondering along the ghats or getting lost for hours in the endless alleyways with some of the most random little shops selling anything from bhang cookies to stuffed animals. The night scene in Varanasi was a little disappointing at first when compared to the more tourist places I've been to, but with the help of the three gals from Australia that are also staying at the hostel there is never a dull moment!

On a less positive note, last night/early this morning I got violently ill for the first time in India. I'm not sure if it was simply the food I ate or something else but I spent from 1-4am bent over the toilet while attempting not to wake up the rest of the hotel with horrid noises. I'm not going to go into any details as I don't want to make anyone sick but lets just say it wasn't a pleasant site (even by Indian standards).


Still feeling ill today, I've decided to take it easy and try not to venture too far from a decent bathroom (which are far and few between in India). Maybe I'll go watch a Hindi film later today, another Bollywood or possibly a Hindi dubbed Hollywood movie.

Most random moment of the day: Eating with Tibetan monks at a McDonalds in Varanasi. I love how monks from Nepal and Tibet always seem to know a decent amount of English as they have provided some of the most interesting conversations during my travels!

Varinasi, the holy city

How is it I always forget my camera in my room when I need it most? The night I arrived in Varanasi also happened to be the day of a festival for the god Shiva. I made it down to the Ganges where there were thousands of people with candles and offerings having a puja(Indian prayer/ceremony). It was an amazing site to see and a warm welcome to the city as I was able to join in using some of the chants I had learnt back at the Ashram.

My basic but cheap room.

The hotel I found, or rather was taken to, turned out to be fantastic! Not only is the 'Old Yogi Lodge' cheap (200rs[$4]/night for a single room with attached bath and 24 hour hot water) but it also sports internet facilities, a decent restaurant, a great rooftop terrace, and an atmosphere that reminds me of my favorite hostel back in Goa (Evershine Guest House).

Cows need lovin' too!

With the money I'm saving by staying here I can afford to start taking yoga classes again, the first one being earlier this morning. The price of food was also a pleasant surprise, being the cheapest I've seen yet.

Rough food prices - hakka noodles 50rs, veggie burger 25rs, cheese&mushroom pizza 60rs

p.s. There are monkeys everywhere.

Hampi (Day 3-4)

I've been spending most my days randomly driving on my motorbike, stopping whenever I see something of interest. I ran across a massive boulder that had a temple at it's tip. After I got to the very top I took a quick look around and was about to head back when someone invited me to join them for tea and see the rest of the temple. Turns out there was a huge area behind the temple even higher in the rocks. I spent a good two or three hours talking with some of the people who lived at the temple about anything and everything from religion to technology to social norms. It wasn't until the sun started going down that I realized so much time had passed, I had to quickly say my goodbyes and go back to Hampi while there was still some light out.

The next day I ate some breakfast and went to book traintickets to.. somewhere. I ended up vandomly picking Varinasi (although getting there involves two trains and three full days of traveling). After that was all sorted it was time to find this monkey temple my friends had told me about. Problem was the temple was on top of a mountain on the otherside of the river, but there where no bridges to cross at. I found some people crossing in little circular 'boats' and decided to give it a try. After I got my bike into the boat and we pushed away it felt as if my motorbike and I were going to fall right through the thin flooring into the river, to my releif we made it across in one peice with minimal water getting in.

 The climb upto the monkey temple, once I eventually found it, was exhausting. The stairs were steep and seemed to be neverending. Remembering my enconters with the monkeys who like to steal at Elephanta Island, by Mumbai, I packed everything into my bag and closed the zippers as I reached the top. It wasn't much of a temple but what a view! You could see for miles on every side, I sat there for a while just looking out and appreciating the landscape for my final day in Hampi.

I leave for Hydrabad this morning, then transfer on to another train tomorrow to continue to Varanasi. It will be my first time in Northern India. I'm quite excited and I'll be keeping you guys posted on how it goes!

Hampi (Day 1-2)

I arrived in Hospet Friday morning. Its the main transport hub in the area, with a 100rs rickshaw ride from the trainstation I shortly after arrived in Hampi. Ofcourse, I had no hotelbookings. This usually isn't a problem unless there is a big festival or celebration taking place.. Which there was. I grabbed one of the last hotel rooms avaliable and have been watching the prices skyrocket everyday since. I'm paying 350-500rs per night for my room with attached bath, but if I wanted the same thing now that the festival is in full swing it would be around 700-800rs!

The good thing about religous festivals is everyone gathers, and stays, in one area; so it has been easy to avoid the crowds. I forget from time to time that there is even a festival going on when I'm wondering anchient ruined cities with no one else in sight.

I rented a scooter/motorbike for 150rs per day so I can go explore on my own. After filling it up with some petro I was off to see what Hampi had to offer. The landscape and sights here are breathtaking! Almost none of the ruins have entrance fees or 'out of bounds' ropes, it's a nice change from other world heritage sites and feels so much more 'real'.

Hello Sushi.. erm Bangalore..

I arrive in Bangalore early in the morning. When the rickshaw drivers see me with my pale skin and large bags they all rush over hoping to get some nicely inflated fares from me. I ask the first one how much it would be to MG rd., 450rs he says! I don’t mind bargaining for a price but there is a point where it just gets offensive. I walk away after laughing at him to the next driver. The fair goes down to 350rs, still well above what a local would pay. On the third or four drivers I spoke to I finally got a reasonable offer, 250rs (the government ‘fixed’ rate). After a bit of work I get him down to 180rs and off we go to MG rd. ‘the heart of the city’.

First sushi night with some friends

The hotel I checked into was double what I paid in Kovalam and less than half as nice, I suppose that’s the price you pay for its connivance and location right on the downtown strip. While walking downtown to scope things out and get a drink I hear a couple people shouting “Simon, hey simon over here!” I look over and see the three I stayed with in Fort Kochi (Kochin) before I left for the ashram. I find it amazing how when I travel to new places full with millions of strangers I still run into friends I’ve met before; it’s happened so many times already and I’m sure it will again as I head up north.


For those of you wondering... I did get sushi, twice! I ate at India’s most highly regarded sushi bar on top of the ‘UB’ high fashion mall. The food was amazing as was the atmosphere. The doors must have stood at least twenty feet tall with huge stone statues and waterfalls inside. Sure the single ‘all-you-can-eat’ sushi meal cost me almost all of my budget for the day, but it was worth every penny.. or umm every rupee..

Eating India's finest sushi

With the satisfying feeling of sushi in my stomach it was time to book a train onwards to Hampi. All the travel agent said they couldn’t get space on a train so I decided to just book it myself with the help of www.cleartrip.com. My ticket for the 14 hour train journey came out to 157rs ($3.5). It’s funny how the train rides are now cheaper than the taxi to and from the train stations. (The overnight train rides which I’m a huge fan of will actually save you a good amount of money as they replace the hotel for the night)

I’ve heard Hampi is like Narnia meets Star Wars, I’m looking forward to renting a motorbike and exploring the ruins.

Goodbye my Ocean friend

My longest standing travel partner so far has been the ocean. With the exception of a few days here and there it has been there every day when I wake and every night when I go to sleep. I leave Kovalam, and the ocean, today for Bangalore on the start of my journey to northern India.


Why Bangalore?

Well for those of you who’ve met me on this trip I’m sure you already know why.. my craving for sushi is leading me there. To the IT capital of India, the ‘Silicon Valley’ if it were. I’ve completely given up with planning my trip at this point. It’s a change from the start of the trip but now I’d much rather arrive somewhere with no reservations or plans and just let things work themselves out.

Leaving the Ashram

One night at the ashram, in the health hut also known as the ‘club’, the topic of traveling after the Ashram came up and I quickly came to realized that I had only a month left to see the rest of India. I had loved my time at the Ashram but knew that if I didn’t go to northern India now it would be something I would forever regret; with that I decided it was time to take with me all I had learnt and continue on my journey.

Kovalam, which notoriously holds the title for India’s most developed resort, was my first stop. Originally I planned to stay only one night here and take the next train to Bangalore but when I tried to book I found out there were no trains available until Monday. I went out in search of a new room, with hopes of honing my bargaining skills, as the one I was staying in was cheap but falling apart (I was paying 300rs per night for a double room with attached bathroom). A guest house less than a minute walk away was my first stop; they had slightly better rooms for 300rs, but I wasn’t sure if it was worth the effort of moving. After seeing two more rooms and knowing that they needed the business I asked to see their nicest room. It was amazing, a spacious room with cable tv, soft double bed, a mini fridge, private balcony, huge bathroom with a hot water shower, and stairs that lead above my room to a little personal rooftop space; only problem was they wanted 500-600rs per night for it. I offered 300rs per night, what I was paying at my current hotel, at which point they kindly rejected. I thanked them and started to walk away when she shouted “wait, wait.. best offer?”. I knew they weren’t going to get someone to fill the room for the night so I offered 1,000rs($20) for three nights (the first night free then 500rs for both the other nights), and with that I checked into the nicest cheap room I’ve found yet.

Side note to the picture: When I was leaving Kovalam I decided that it was time I threw away a large portion of what I was carrying with me. I’ve accumulated a lot of things, especially clothing, since I first arrived to India. So with the advice I had received from a Swami (similar to a monk) at the ashram I gave away roughly half of what I was carrying to children and anyone else who could use what I no longer needed. There is also an eight kilogram parcel on its way home, but it could be a while before it actually arrives.

Sivananda Ashram

I don’t even know where to start on writing about the ashram so I’ll just write what comes to mind in no particular order.

On the first day during lectures we went around introducing ourselves and why we came to the ashram, problem was I don’t know why I came to the ashram. Why do we always have to have reasons for the things we do? My answer... ‘why not?’ (said in a more intellectual way of course).

Prepping for morning Yoga.

The first three days were the most challenging. I had only done two or three yoga classes before arriving, it was a struggle to keep up but I wanted to push myself. We did 4-6 hours a day of hatha yoga classes plus another hour for personal yoga and/or meditation coaching. My body was continuously sore, simple things like the steps up to the classes and lectures had become tiring. It was around day four or five things started to click. I had energy, an abundance of positive energy and I felt absolutely amazing. You could see the progress in myself and everyone else in the class. Postures that use to be a struggle to hold were now relaxing.

Getting ready to eat!

The food; oh the food. People either loved or absolutely hated the food. Maybe it was because my body needed the energy but I thought it was delicious. We ate two simple vegetarian meals every day, sitting on the floor eating with our hands, after our hatha yoga classes. All the food was pure to help our bodies, which means there were no onions, garlic, processed foods, or meats.



I will write a more detailed post with pictures about the ashram later as there is so much to tell. Until then, if anyone has questions feel free to ask me here or via email :)

Still alive!

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates over the past little while. I left the ashram a few days ago but things have gotten hectect as I was, and still am, trying to straighten things out for the rest of my trip.

I am taking a train tonight that will put me right around the middle of India tomorrow if everything goes according to plan. It's an overnight train so I will be writing a few posts to recape the ashram experiance and everything that has happened since then. You can look forward to some new posts starting tomorrow!

I have lots of writing to do so I'm off.

Cheers!

It's the little things: Coconuts

Remember me writing about my fear of falling coconuts? Well this is the not-so-little guy that fell and hit me on the back, leaving a huge bruise for about a week. Scary thing is it was only a couple inches away from falling on my head; I don’t even want to think about what that would have felt like!

This is an scheduled posting which means I'm still at the Ashram with no internet access. - Simon

It's the little things: Beach Huts

When I arrived in Goa it was still the low season as the monsoon was just ending. There was still a good selection of available accommodation but that changes quite dramatically during December-January when the high season peaks and not only do foreign tourists fill the beaches but so do travelers coming from all over India.

To accommodate the huge surge in visitors, and demand for accommodation, almost all the guest house/hostels near the beaches construct ‘beach huts’ which they keep up until the season is over then dismantle and store them away until the next year. In the picture above you can see some set up in the very right part of the picture, when we were leaving our hostel was also well into setting theirs up as well (you can see the bases for the huts in the very left-hand side of the picture).

This is an scheduled posting which means I'm still at the Ashram with no internet access. - Simon

It's the little things: Daily Life in Goa

‘Family friendly’ version of our daily schedule in Goa: Wake-up, eat breakfast, drink Tuborg, eat lunch, dink more Tuborg, eat fresh fruit on the beach from the dancing/singing man, have another Tuborg while playing frisbee, watch the sunset, each supper, drink more Tuborg, go to sleep and repeat the next day. The perfect life.

This is an scheduled posting which means I'm still at the Ashram with no internet access. - Simon

It's the little things: Pictures Lost

I’ve had my camera physically taken away by men armed with guns four or five times now for taking pictures in places I either shouldn’t be or that they don’t want pictures of. I’ve lost a good number of pictures from this, my favourite being of a military sign in their naval/gunnery training base which had their motto:

 “Hit First, Hit Hard, Keep Hitting”

This is an scheduled posting which means I'm still at the Ashram with no internet access. - Simon

It's the little things: Rubbish Bins!

The first garbage/rubbish bins I’ve seen in India! These little guys line the port and beaches in Fort Kochi, unfortunately people don’t know what they are for as there are piles of rubbish beside them while they remain empty. I was happy to use one for the first time in India.

This is an scheduled posting which means I'm still at the Ashram with no internet access. - Simon

It's the little things: Contrast

Contrast is everywhere in India. I was wondering away from the touristy part of Kochin when I came across this amazingly built, and clean, house in a neighborhood where almost all of the other buildings are falling apart or deserted with people sleeping out on the streets.

This is an scheduled posting which means I'm still at the Ashram with no internet access. - Simon

It's the little things: Safety

All those drums are full of oil. Ya, that looks safe. What could go wrong?

This is an scheduled posting which means I'm still at the Ashram with no internet access. - Simon

It’s the little things: Football

Me with some fellow football fans I met. I was walking back to my hostel in Fort Kochi when they saw my Manchester United jersey and invited me to join their football game. They told me they didn’t think Canadians could play football; that is until my team cleaned house! haha

This is an scheduled posting which means I'm still at the Ashram with no internet access. - Simon

It’s the little things: Breakfast

Every day; waking up and eating breakfast with friends while looking out on to the ocean: 

 A month well spent.

This is an scheduled posting which means I'm still at the Ashram with no internet access. - Simon

Lonely Road

Traveling alone is a funny thing. I’ve never been surrounded by and met so many interesting people everyday yet still missed someone so much. Before I left for India a few of my friends told me this would happen. 

One of the things I’m looking most forward to about coming home is seeing her.

The little things

Even though it's only been a short time here I'm starting to forget how things are back home. I haven’t had a hot shower in over a month now, or drank water from a tap. No one speaks the same type of English as I do; I’m starting to pick up accents depending on who I’m around at the time.

Garbage, where are the garbage bins? I still hate littering the streets of India with my garbage but I rarely (read never) have any other choice.  Recycling bins? I wish. I don’t think India has any sort of recycling program.  The guest house we stayed at in Palolem (Goa) used our Tuborg beer bottles to create walls around the plants as they had nowhere else to put the bottles.

After staying in a new room every night everywhere I go I’m starting to forget what mine looks like back home. I’ve gotten use to the Indian way of driving; hopefully I don’t continue to drive like that back home though as it won’t go over well. What do you mean I can’t just urinate everywhere and pay off police officers for any sort of offence? I remember when a police officer tried to pull me over in Fort Kochi and I just waved back and speed up on my motorbike, acting as if I thought we was just waving to me. I wonder if bargaining will work back home? And to what degree before people just get offended?

It will be interesting to see how I’ve changed once I get home and all the little things, even if I hate them now, that I will miss about India.


This is an scheduled posting which means I'm still at the Ashram with no internet access. - Simon

Banoffee Pie?

One of my favourite memories of Varkala is the night me and Ceri (from England) went on search of Banoffee pie. Before leaving Canada I had never had, or ever heard of, Banoffee pie. If it wasn’t for the two travelers I met, Helen and Ceri, I would have never fallen in love with this English dessert. (I’ll give a link to a pie wiki here as I don’t know how to fully explain it other than it’s an amazing dish that has a shortbread type base with cream on top, usually surrounded by bananas.)

A few of us had been eating the pie practically every day while in Palolem (Goa) and were happy to find it on a number of menus in Varkala. Only problem was no one seemed to have them in stock. Ceri and I were craving the pie after supper one night so we took off on a quest to find it. We looked for what seemed like hours, asking every restaurant and person we could find.

In the end we didn’t actually find any but the fact that everyone remembered us as the people who just want Banoffee pie, and bugged us about it every time we walked by any of the restaurants or shops in the following days .

This is an scheduled posting which means I'm still at the Ashram with no internet access. - Simon